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Hamline School of Education Alumnus Rides Self-Built Electric Motorcycle to a New Speed Record

Kevin Clemens loves green vehicles, especially those
that go fast.

He holds a graduate degree in environmental
education, followed the hottest car trends as a technical editor for Automobile magazine, and authored a book
about alternative energy vehicles.

And on August 29, 2011, he set a new land speed
record of 61.55 miles per hour for “unstreamlined electric motorcycles” in his custom
bike’s weight class – under 150-kg. The record was made while participating in
the BUB Motorcycle Speed Trials on the Bonneville Salt Flats in Utah.

“The electrification of vehicles is the way forward
to save the environment and end our addiction to oil,” Clemens said. “But everyone
has golf-carts; I wanted to race something like a motorcycle to show electric
vehicles can be fun.”

Clemens hand-built his winning bike, starting with a
Honda frame and integrating batteries, a powerful electric motor, and custom
sprockets. The motorcycle is considered “unstreamlined” because it lacks
aerodynamic aides like rounding or fairings.

“Education is the future and the way to change the
world,” Clemens said. “I wanted to be able to teach younger generations because
they’re going to be the ones who will solve our problems of oil addiction and
climate change.”

Yet throughout his plethora of experiences, Clemen’s
passion for vehicles has remained steadfast. He intends to build a new bike
based off a Kawasaki Ninja with his sights on breaking the all-time electric
motorcycle speed record of 100 mph.

“I think I can do it,” Clemens said.

Check out the amazing footage from his helmet camera during the record-setting run.